Green Friday

"We do not inherit this land from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children".

When I think about how our society has changed just in the last 60 years and what kind of society and environment BB will grow up in, I am often fearful about the direction it is all heading. The new normal that has been created seems to be a very different picture that the normal of the 1950s. Today we all have to have two cars, a computer, an iPod or two, cell phones for everyone, et cetera - it's just normal. And we need two cars to get us to the two jobs it takes to pay for all this normal, and to get our children to the childcare we need so we can go to our two jobs. All to keep up with normal. Where did this normal come from? How did it become so different from a couple generations ago, when our grandparents were walking uphill both ways barefoot in the snow?
I am convinced that God has called me to be a good steward of all of my resources, including this amazing planet. I am worried about all the chemicals floating in and around all of the products we have surrounded ourselves with, products and chemicals that weren't around even when I was born, and the long-term effects of which we do not know. And I'm worried about where it will all go when we're done with it. What am I doing with the land (and the society) I am borrowing from BB?
I'm grateful I watched this video before starting the craze of "Christmas shopping". I am anxious to find ways to opt out of the consumerism mentality this holiday season, whether it's by creating or simplifying or reusing as best as I can and I am interested to hear about ways others have found to do this, so please share your thoughts and ideas on this!

Note: I viewed this video at www.under1000permonth.blogspot.com

Post Script: After a lengthy discussion with J, I've decided to add a note that yes, I am aware that I do not know who this woman is, where her numbers come from, or who paid her to travel the world studying these things for ten years and that this video is an "advertisement" of sorts in and of itself. I do not know if everything she says is true (J was especially ruffled by her inaccurate example of a computer as planned obsolescence-you mess with a computer, you mess with J :) ) But I think there is value in watching and weighing it against your own thoughts and research.

Gobble

Happy Thanksgiving!

"Gobble gobble, bark, er, gobble gobble"
Love, BB

*turkey shirt by Mommy

Falling Asleep

BB is finally getting over his first cold, and we think this little elephant cool-mist humidifier was a stylish helper in the healing process. Thanks to the stuffy nose and the teething, BB now seems to be rejecting his pacifier. It seemed like it hurts his gums to bite down on it, and once he couldn't breathe through his nose it was bye bye binky. Or more accurately, cry cry binky. cry. cry some more. get picked up. stop crying. fuss. put back down. cry. pick up and bounce and spin by daddy. cry. daddy puts baby back in crib and bounces mattress. baby falls asleep mid-cry from pure exhaustion.
He was really only using his pacifier when falling asleep but it has been a crucial part in the actual falling asleep process - sometimes it would only take a couple of seconds of sucking and he would be out. Now we have nothing more than some pats and bounces to soothe him. Sucking on his blanket for a moment seems to soothe him enough to quiet down and close his eyes. Hopefully that can continue to satisfy his soothing needs.
Another trend in falling asleep (or rather, in NOT falling asleep) has been BB rolling right over from his back to his tummy. This is a well-honed skill these days, and he loves practicing, while awake, falling asleep, and even in his sleep. He moves all over his crib when napping nowadays and often wakes up crying on his tummy, frustrated that he doesn't have room to roll himself back over (he is a one-way roller). I love peeking in his room and seeing him sleeping on his tum like a grown-up with a foot sticking out between the bars.

Grapes of Baby Wrath

BB has two little white dots on his lower gums - IT'S OFFICIAL! He's TEETHING!
Oh the dreaded teething. I have feared this day for many reasons, the paramount of which is the fear of one day being bitten. In a very. sensitive. location. Well, two very. sensitive. locations.
But there is also the fear of going back to waking up all night and a very cranky baby, some of which we've already seen the last week, as poor BB has been the subject of his own personal Bermuda Triangle: a cold, a heinous diaper rash, and teething.
In an effort to recover our cheerful, well-rested baby from the Triangle, this weekend J and I decided to try out this little teether - it vibrates when BB gnaws on it, which weren't sure would feel good, but it seems to be alleviating some pain and therefore some of the teething wrath.

Close to Me

Several weeks ago I began to feel the chaos set in again - my daily pace was becoming frantic as the anxiety began to permeate. Even though I don't feel "sad", I have learned to recognize these feelings as harbingers of depression. I realized that when BB was napping, I was cleaning or doing laundry, and when I wasn't at home caring for BB and the house, I was working, trying to serve my patients lovingly while optimizing their health. Trying to find time to work out has been challenging and I was feeling discouraged about my body. I remembered the days when I could get up and get a glass of water anytime I wanted and wondered how I felt so busy then when I could do anything anytime I wanted.

That weekend, the Lord knew just what I needed - I spent the afternoon with my little family at an outdoor wedding reception in beautiful weather, socializing as a family and taking BB on the dance floor for the first time. A social event that might normally make me feel ready for a nap was actually revitalizing. That night was a girl's night out - I drove away from the house feeling free, windows down and music up, grateful that J was enjoying a boys night in with BB. He was safe at home with his daddy and I was free to...anything! I had dinner with friends and after dinner we walked around the outdoor mall, debating continuing the evening. I was excited by any suggestion, and laughed when I realized I was just so excited I had the option to do any of it. The next day, I felt peaceful inside again. The anxiety was gone.

Driving to Target alone the other evening, I felt that same lightness of being (to borrow a phrase), a freedom that felt satisfying only because it was temporary.

Speaking with my sister-in-law recently we discussed "me time" and how as a mommy, it can be hard to come by.

In the afternoon I danced in the living room with BB, tears sliding down my cheeks as I sang "Wildflower" and realized how much I meant the words for him.
"You belong among the wildflowers
You belong somewhere close to me
Far away from your trouble and worry
You belong somewhere you feel free"

This hope and anticipation and delight is even harder to come by.
He belongs close to me, and it's so worth it.

Happy 5-Month Birthday BB!

BB was 5 months old on Halloween! Here's the dinosaur with his Cave-Parents!

You've already seen pictures of some of his 5-month changes, like his laughs, and his first time in his high chair. Some other changes are that he reached out for Mommy for the first time, which made Mommy feel important; He has played in his exersaucer lots and had his first taste of somethings other than mommy-milk: formula and rice cereal. He has formula mixed with breastmilk on the days that I work (as he was eating more than I was pumping when I work) and he had his first taste of rice cereal just days before his 5-month birthday. He was a little indifferent to his first tastes, but last night was the third time he had rice cereal, and he anxiously cried out for the spoon every time it was taken away to scoop up another bite - we have to move pretty quick to keep him satisfied. BB has also begun lots of high-pitched squeals when playing - he just gets more and more talky all the time and we love hearing all the emotion conveyed in his little sighs and squeals. BB is also slowly becoming mobile - he got his knees under himself and launched himself forward when lying in our bed one morning!
Time just keeps launching forward too - Happy 5 Months.